Condensed Commerce - June 21, 2019

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How is Shopify challenging Amazon? Who's involved in Facebook's Cryptocurrency? This post is curated to help tune-out some of the noise and tune into information that matters.

Photo: Verishop

WHAT'S GOING ON IN COMMERCE THIS WEEK?

Verishop goes after amazon

Snapchat's former CSO wants to bring the "joy back to online shopping" and support direct-to-consumer brands with his new business Verishop. It was launched this week with 160 brands and 4,000 SKUs with the goal of feeling like an online department store. This is a direct competitor to Amazon and other platforms like it. So how is this one different? It's about combating counterfeit products and helping up-and-coming brands to branch out without having to worry about devaluing their products.

Google redesigns shopping marketplace

With 78% of US shoppers considering Amazon a favorite online shopping destination, only 26% say the same of Google and other search engines. Analysts blame poor branding and experience, but as Google merges Google Express and Google Shopping to push further into online marketplace sales, this might be about to change. Shoppers will be able to buy through Google Search, Images, and YouTube with a universal cart, and check out with a seamless experience. While they have a long way to go to challenge Amazon, it's a safe bet that this evolution will improve their share of online marketplace sales.

Shopify invests $1B into US Fulfilment network

A larger competitor than Verishop is taking aim at Amazon. Shopify just announced a major investment into helping merchants with fulfilment through regional warehouses in the US with the goal of providing two-day shipping to 99% of the country. They'll reach that goal by the end of 2019. Craig Miller, Shopify's CPO, makes a good point about the benefits for merchants, "Let’s admit it: You want the package arriving in a box that has your logo on it, not theirs." Shopify has several hundred thousand merchants on their platform in the US who can take advantage of the network.

Facebook reveals details around cryptocurrency

Finally putting rumors to rest, Facebook has announced the details of their crypto payment system Libra. Facebook won't control the currency completely, other founding members include Visa, Mastercard, eBay, Uber, and Lyft, with a goal of having 100 members, each investing $10M into the Libra Foundation, by launch. Surprising many analysts is how hands-off Facebook appears to be, positioning the global currency system more for the long-game and ensuring that payment details are not connected to users Facebook profiles. Other than the obvious benefit to them of driving more commerce and ad sales through Facebook, the firm sees the platform as a viable solution for the 1.7B people without bank accounts.